Paizo So how are P2 and Starfinder doing?

[BrokenTwin]

I'm very interesting in playing a game of it wth my FLGS group when that finally starts up again, but I've got zero interesting in GMing the system. See if it can replace Fantasy Craft as my "crunchy d20 system of choice".

 

[TheAlkaizer]

As we're drawing closer to the one year anniversary of the 2nd edition of Pathfinder, I'm very curious as to how well it did. As stated in many threads like this one before, it's a bit hard to get a good feeling of how well it's doing. I went for a long walk last sunday and stopped at two different gaming hobby stores, one of them being my local one where I often go.

I asked them how PF2 and Starfinder did in sales. They both gave me similar options.

They told me Starfinder did quite well when it launched and the hype lasted well into 2018. For about a year and a half it really calmed down and it's been picking up a bit lately.

Pathfinder 2E they told me had a really slow start. They sold quite a few Core Rulebook but saw very little action at tables. The following books (Lost Omens) didn't sell really well and Pathfinder 2E disappeared from the tables for a while. They told me that now that gaming shops reopened (in Montreal) there's been much more interest from people and Pathfinder 2E share of their sales has been much better than before the pandemic.

Paizo has, I think, released a very healthy amount of content for P2E over its first year. I think they're plan forward, whether they slow down or keep up the pace will be a good indicator on how it's doing globally.

 

[Celtavian]

I figured PF2 would have a slower uptake than PF1 given the gaming community is very happy with 5E. When PF1 came out the community was split. 5E has pretty handily rejuvenated the D&D community and drawn them back together. PF2 is a very good game, but it will take more work and time for uptake.

 

[Retreater]

So, in general, is Starfinder okay? Like I have ignored Pathfinder for years, recently came back to PF2 and am enjoying it. Is Starfinder closer to PF1 or 2? It's own thing?

 

[TheAlkaizer]

So, in general, is Starfinder okay? Like I have ignored Pathfinder for years, recently came back to PF2 and am enjoying it. Is Starfinder closer to PF1 or 2? It's own thing?

I haven't played Pathfinder 2 but I own all the books and have read them from cover to cover.

Starfinder is very much its own thing. It is not science fiction, it's science fantasy. It literally is pathfinder in space. I like it a lot, it's very refreshing to break D&D, pathfinder and other fantasy games.

As to the rules, I've often seen Starfinder described as a pathfinder 1.5. You can tell some ideas were implemented in Starfinder and made their way to Pathfinder 2E. Paizo's change of direction is quite obvious. But it also shares many mechanics with the more old-school 1st edition of Pathfinder.

 

[BigZebra]

I am currently DM'ing 5e ToD, but seeing how my group enjoys the tactical aspect of combat, I am considering PF2.
I have bought the CB, the Plagustone book, and the first part of the AoA Adventure Path.

Reading the stuff, I am impressed by it, and am looking forward to trying it with the group some day.

When visting stores I find it featured just as prominently as 5e, although I'm sure 5e dwarfs it in sales. It is quite crazy how big 5e is really.

 

[teitan]

So P2 seems to be doing steady business, which is good and there is a lot less teeth gnashing about it. I recently was invited to a 1e game and Purchased quite a few books for the game as the pocket editions are so cheap. As I have read 2e and a good chunk of the PF books now, I’ve noticed that for all the teeth gnashing about 2e they sure as heck don’t seem all that different. Just seems like archetypes and alternate race traits have been turned into feats and consolidated into the core book making them easier to understand and implement out of the box. The biggest changes seem to be in the combat system with the 3 action economy and some other tweaks here and there. I think that’s helped contribute to the steady sales as people wrapped up their PF campaigns and checked out the core book.

Starfinder is my favorite Sci Fi game as it’s probably the best game for GotG style hijinks that I love. I’m currently in the infancy of plotting a SF campaign and really looking forward to running that.

 

[Jd Smith1]

For some reason I can't buy pdfs off the Paizo site. Aside from being the most clumsy sales site I've seen, it won't accept my billing address, and it won't take Paypal.

Is there anywhere else you can buy their PDFs?

 

[ccs]

Sales wise I know the PF2 books (Core, Bestiary, etc) sells fairly steadily at my most local shop. I often see them being unpacked & checked in. Not so much for the AP volumes.
Starfinder? Now & then the shop'll sell a core book. I don't think they stock any of the AP volumes.

Play wise - shop: Well the ongoing pandemic & a knock on effect change in buissiness hours wiped out the Friday RPG groups in-store play. Before that there were two groups playing PF1/PF2 (they seemed to alternate, I think they had multiple campaigns running & alternated DMs). I know the one group is still active & I assume the other is. I also know the one group also runs some Starfinder.

Play wise - my groups:
PF2 - It's in the rotation mix in my Sunday group.
I've run 1 short story arc & another DM just finished running the first AP (sadly we hit a TPK late in book 4 & storywise it doesn't make much sense to simply carry on.)
I'm neutral on PF2. Don't hate it, but don't love it either. If someone wants to run it I'll definitely play it. I'll even run it if that's what the group really wants & it's my turn behind the screen.
Sales wise within the group? I'd say it faired poorly. I own the Core + Bestiary + setting book whatever its called. The guy who just got done running owns the special edition core book + Bestiary + entire 1st AP. Everyone else pirated their stuff.
In my Thur. group it might be a possibility. I own the Core & Bestiary & one other player (#1) owns the Core. We're open to playing it. Two other players; well #2 is clueless & doesn't even know it exists & #3 might be 50/50. But it'd be a real hard sell to player #4. And listening to #4 bitch about any # of features - mechanical or setting would likely make it not worth the effort. The good news is that players #2, #3, & #4 would all buy the book(s) they needed.
Starfinder
Wouldn't fly in my Thur. group.
Might be a possibility in my Sunday group. We're not opposed to running other stystems/genres. I own the Core book. I know the one player pirated at least the core book a while back (probably more, whatever files the site had).

 

[Derren]

Starfinder is very much its own thing. It is not science fiction, it's science fantasy. It literally is pathfinder in space. I like it a lot, it's very refreshing to break D&D, pathfinder and other fantasy games.

Which for me is the big problem. Why play Starfinder when you are just getting standard fantasy?